Owner of Leechburg's Twisted Thistle opening new restaurant at New Kensington ice arena

A Leechburg restaurant owner is looking to pull off a hat trick in New Kensington.

Joe Hesketh, co-owner of Twisted Thistle and Market Street Pizza in Leechburg, is opening a new restaurant, Crossbar Grill, across from the Pittsburgh Ice Arena on Craigdell Road.

Crossbar replaces The Breakaway Bar and Grill, which closed earlier this year. While benefiting from the business the arena will bring, Hesketh said Crossbar will be a family friendly restaurant with sports.

“We want to service the whole community,” he said.

Ice arena owner Andy Virostek had the building on the market as a turn-key restaurant for lease. Hesketh has done a lot more than that, spending about $200,000 on renovations inside and out.

“Everything is new from the ceiling on down,” Hesketh said.

Crossbar features an all-new menu, with everything fresh and made from scratch, Hesketh said.

A limited menu when Crossbar is open for takeout and delivery only during covid restrictions includes starters, salads, pizza, sandwiches, burgers and wings. The full four-page menu will also have entrees and pasta, Hesketh said.

The spinach feta roll was one thing on Breakaway’s menu Hesketh was told he had to keep. But like everything else, Crossbar’s version is made fresh, not frozen.

“I’m hoping people like it better,” he said. “We shall see.”

Crossbar will be open from 4-8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Hours could change based on demand.

Hesketh is not worried about trying to launch a new restaurant during the covid pandemic because he’s already done it, opening Market Street Pizza in June. Going from inception to opening in 22 days, Hesketh said the pizzeria has been profitable despite the pandemic.

“It allows me to keep people employed, which is the main goal,” he said.

Hesketh, 28, of Vandergrift started as a part-time consultant at Twisted Thistle three years ago and became its managing partner with owner Linda Alworth in June 2019. He’s also managing partner of Lingrow Farm with Alworth in Gilpin, and owns Twisted Computing.

Alworth said they are working on Hesketh taking over Twisted Thistle, Market Street Pizza and Lingrow Farm.

“He’s a great guy. He’s an honest guy. He’s a hard worker,” she said. “He knows I’m always there for him.”

Hesketh said he fell into Crossbar by accident, after he was told the building was available.

Virostek said a couple others expressed interest, but he stopped looking anywhere else when Hesketh stepped up. Virostek said he knows Twisted Thistle and Hesketh’s reputation.

“We wanted the premiere, perfect restaurant here to service the rink and the community. We stumbled on the best and we’re excited,” Virostek said. “I think we have a mutual strong commitment to make this something special.”

Kathy Fedoush, of Lower Burrell and the bar manager at Twisted Thistle, is the general manager at Crossbar.

“It’s a great opportunity,” she said. “Every weekend the hockey folks are here and they need a place to go that’s close.”

With Twisted Thistle head chef Addison “Wayne” Brant training the new people at Crossbar, Fedoush said the food, while different from that at Twisted Thistle, will be excellent.

“I’m excited, very excited,” she said. “We’re blessed at a time when everything else is closing. We want to do it right.”

The building already has an outdoor patio at the back, and Hesketh said he plans to add a deck on the side in the spring. With a stage inside, he plans to have live music at least two weekends a month.

“We want to be a place where people can gather, get good food and hang out,” he said. “We want it to be for everyone.”